Around 1880, a natural spring was discovered by accident by a local farmer, Travis Mellion, when his daughter Opal became ill with a form of tuberculosis. He asked for advice from nearby campers and they suggested the water that flowed from the bank of the Fishing River. Over the course of a few weeks, she showed great improvement and was eventually cured. Another farmer named Frederick Kugler, lived just up from the spring. He began treating his rheumatic knees and a sore on his leg caused by a Civil War gunshot wound. Once again healing occurred. The Reverend John Van Buren Flack travelled to the area after hearing about the medicinal values of the spring water. The spring belonged to land owner Anthony Wyman. Flack built a home on a 40-acre tract that Wyman plotted, opened the first dry-goods store and also founded the first church. He named the spring “Excelsior” after the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem Excelsior. The spring was later renamed to Siloam which means spring or pool in Hebrew. Reverend Flack and Mr. Wyman formed a partnership and created a town at the site of the mineral spring. Because there was already a town in Missouri by the name of Excelsior, the town was named Vigniti. In 1882, the town was renamed to Excelsior Springs. As time passed, several more springs were discovered and used for their medicinal values. Wells were also dug as the need for water increased by the large number of visitors. Four distinct types of water have been found in Excelsior Springs: ferro-manganese, sodium bicarbonate, saline and soda combined and saline and sulpho-saline water. In the little valley where Excelsior Springs is located, there are more different kinds of mineral water that can be found here than any other place in the world. A hotel was built here and it wasn’t long before many flocked to Excelsior to discover all that the springs had to offer. The Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railroad brought an even more amount of people to the growing city. In 1888, the first Elms Hotel was built. Less than 10 years later it was destroyed by fire. A second Elms Hotel was built and opened in 1909. It too was destroyed by fire just over a year later. The third and current Elms Hotel was built and opened in 1912. It prospered early on as a speakeasy with the notorious mobster Al Capone, frequently visiting. In November 1948, Harry S. Truman, spent election night at the Elms. On his return back to Washington D.C. the next day, a stop in St. Louis allowed for the famous photograph to be taken of him holding the Chicago Daily Tribune that boasted in error Dewey defeats Truman. Today Excelsior prospers and offers so many conveniences to all who live and visit the town including: Over 12 city parks offer a wide variety of experiences such as trails, multipurpose fields, playgrounds, baseball and softball fields and basketball and tennis courts. The city also has a get fit park, a skate park and a dog park, golf course, a community center; a seasonal farmers market on Saturdays beginning in June and going through September; several annual festivals, historic lodging and so much more. Excelsior Springs is located approximately 40 minutes northeast of downtown Kansas City.